Special Education Caseloads: Committee Draft Recommendations

Categories # 2 through 10

Dear Committee Members,

As per our discussions today, below are the board categories as outlined in the meeting. Committee members are asked to develop 1-3 recommendations for as many of these categories as they wish. Also please feel free to offer a sentence or two as rationale for the recommendation.

Example:

Recommendation: Recommend that each form that is required have a designation as either a Federal requirement, State law/rule or local policy with a link to the statutory or policy requirement.

Rationale: Potentially could streamline processes and reduce paperwork, but would clarify for staff and parents why the form is being required. Also could become basis for professional development

Categories:

1. Paperwork

2. Case Load Statute/Rule (Modifications? if so what?)

3. Licensure/teacher supply

4. Other time requirements

5. Professional development

6. How to increase student time

7. Ways classroom/other teachers could help

8. Resource needs (funding, time)

9. Decision making

10. Which OLA recommendations should the committee consider?

2. Case Loads

• Lower caseloads or create different ways to handle paperwork

• I would like to see the current rule/law pertaining to caseloads be repealed.

• Recommend providing the greatest flexibility for school administrators in meeting the needs of special education students.

Rationale:

A). School administrators are always trying to balance the needs of all students and available revenue. Placing additional limitations on the management of teachers and paraprofessionals would likely result in pressures in other parts of the school district budget and classrooms.

B). Districts have diverted a substantial portion of general education aid and local operating levy revenue to pay for special education costs. Additional requirements, either in statute or rule, would reduce flexibility and increase costs which would likely increase the growing cross-subsidy.

• Recommendations: Special education teacher caseloads are limited to certain number of estimated minutes each student would require to complete paperwork, parent meetings, parent communications, etc.

• Rationale: Student educational needs can be better met and teachers will have time to complete their other duties such as teaching, consulting with teachers, dealing with student crises, making parent phone calls, etc.

• I would like to know more on if people are having specific problems with this statute/rule.

3. Licensure/teacher supply

• Create different requirements for EBD teachers

• Include more educational requirements related to reading and RTI

• Recommend the provision requiring special education teachers holding the new ABS license return to college to obtain a second license within five years be removed and that the high stakes test that is currently required to become licensed be eliminated.

• Recommend allowing school districts to include incentives to hire special education teachers, or in academic areas where a limited supply of candidates exists.

Rationale: Give school districts the flexibility in meeting the requirement of hiring a licensed teacher and gives districts greater discretion of paying more for a position that is in demand.

• Recommend higher education institutions to collaborate with public school officials to create a plan that would increase the number of licensed and qualified special education teacher candidates.

This would allow greater flexibility for teachers and districts to meet the short-term needs in the area of special education licensure.

5. Professional Development

• Recommend that local districts in collaboration with staff development committees should have the discretion to determine the most appropriate staff development activities to meet the needs of their district.

• I don’t know how much time is spent in training to be a teacher on how to write an IEP. Is a website or something needed that has examples of good IEPs? Training on how to write measurable goals? Examples for how to write things.

6. How to increase student time

• Look into a “progress-monitoring software” or look into Enterprise Content Management (ECM) from Perceptive Software.

I recently read something on a school in Alaska that has been using it. Anchorage School District. With this system the school district has gone virtually paperless in special ed and other departments. They have indicated it has greatly reduced workload. And it is a fact that schools that seek out and implement new technologies will most likely create a better working environment for their staff.

• Recommendation: Limit special education self-contained classroom size to 12 (for SLD/OHI/EBD) students without a para in order for the individual educational needs of each student be met.

Rationale: The educational needs of each individual student can better be met if the teacher has small class sizes. The teacher can review student work, give feedback and better meet the individual needs of each student when class size is small.

• Recommendations: Every school has access to a testing coordinator who completes three year reassessments and initials and writes the evaluation reports and sets IEP meetings with parents.

Rationale: Special Education teachers will have more time to prep for their classes, grade and correct student work, and focus on teaching. If there is a testing coordinator, the special education teacher is able to take care and manage the events that come up during a day. student crises, communicating with regular education teachers, making phone calls to parents, outside agencies, etc.

Average time a special ed. teacher needs to complete paperwork/school year: caseload of 20 students:

o Average estimate of total hours spent on paperwork/school year: 310 hours (310 hours = over 7 extra work weeks which most spec. ed. teachers use their time after hours after school or take home to complete)

• Are there ways that administration support could be beneficial – like due process secretaries to schedule meetings, type forms, etc.

• (Would it be beneficial for teachers to dictate (or some other method) information for a form and someone else do the typing?

• Use technology for video conferencing, electronic parent and educator signatures, automatic data input, and MDE required reporting functions that are automatically accessible eliminating the need for teachers to send to the department.

7. Ways classroom/other teachers could help

• Recommend considering all regular education teachers complete at least one broad category special education course before receiving their license.

Rationale: . While this may be an additional requirement the approach would ensure regular education teachers had a better understanding of the special education process and the role of the special education teacher.

• Being a parent and not a teacher, I don’t completely understand the full process. But I do understand that to create IEPs, the special educator needs to involve the regular educator in the special education process. Otherwise, the two cannot effectively execute the plans. It's difficult to educate a child if you are unaware of his or her special needs. It is important for each to discuss the modifications and accommodations as well as the goals and objectives to ensure student success in the classroom. The special and regular education teacher can then work together in meeting the student’s goals and ensuring adequate progress.

• In the same way, the regular education teacher should discuss with the special education teacher his or her goals for the regular students, as the regular education students belong to the special education teacher as well. Both educators should be addressing the goals, objectives, and mandatory curriculum for that grade level.

• I don’t understand WHY some of the paperwork can’t be shared as well. If they are both working for the same goal for the student, it only makes sense that they both be involved 100%.

• Recommendations: Train paraprofessionals in behavior management (the fine line between enabling and enriching student learning).

Rationale: Teachers would be able to rely on paraprofessionals to assist students in their learning. Resources Needed:

Recommendation: Each special education teacher has 1 period to prep for classes and 1 period to work on due process. (See about estimated total hours spent on paperwork per school year for each special education teacher)

Rationale: Special Education teachers spend an average of 5 hours each year per student on annual paperwork. Add in an average of 30 hours for reevaluations. This time spend on paperwork is added to their everyday duties of teaching, calling parents, working with mainstream teachers.

8. Resource needs (funding, time)

Funding for PBIS, RTI,

Funding to increase professionalism of aides

9. Decision making

• Giving teachers more control on scheduling the students on their caseloads like in the past.

The last 5 years administrators have dictated what students are in your classes by test scores instead of looking at the whole student. The case managers know the students the best and know what the needs are and what group of students work best together.

• Recommend that school districts have the greatest flexibility in determining their staffing levels based on the needs of the students and financial conditions. School administrators use various strategies in their decision making as it relates to teaching and support staff.

10. OLA Recommendations

• Allow the state to “clean up” the special education rules

• I feel the task force should recommend the legislator adopt all the recommendations made in the OLA report.

• The Division of Compliance and Assistance at MDE should focus on results driven accountability.

• .Recommend options that would reduce school district reliance on general education funding to pay special education expenses. At the same time, MDE should work with school districts to find feasible cost controls in special education.

• MDE should evaluate current monitoring process to improve special education teachers understanding of compliance requirements. In addition, MDE should move more toward and outcome based monitoring system.

• MDE should continue to find ways to streamline paperwork required in special education and identify effective practices from districts to encourage additional efficiencies.

• MDE should update special education rules for consistency with Minnesota statutes. The Legislative Auditor has done thorough analysis of rules and statutes identifying those that exceed federal requirements. If the committee wants the State of Minnesota to invest in a cost analysis project in each of these identified areas, then the committee should ask for such an analysis.

• Paperwork: Recommend the use of SPED administrative assistants to help with paperwork load, for example write and send letters, make appointments with team members. (#1)

Rationale: Increase in direct student time for teachers.

• Recommendation: Allow for regular scheduling of Due Process time for case managers within school day. (#4)

• Recommendation: The position of SPED paraprofessionals specialized, increase pay and required experience/education so they are able to be of more assistance to teachers with both students and workload. (#7)

• Decision Making: Recommend caseload distribution to be a team decision with both administrators and teachers, in order to provide the best fit for studentsand workload for teachers. (#9)

Rationale: There can be many special circumstances/situations to consider with SPED students and to ensure the best possible outcome for students, those with prior knowledge of students can provide valuable insight.

Other:

An issue that I don’t know where it would fit would be the pros/cons of having a case manager who is not the teacher. Is that a way to help?

I am also wondering if there are specific times of the year that are busier than others – and if there is anything that can be done about that?

• Recommend that special education teachers get treated with more respect and be supported by administrators. For example: I’m currently a special education teacher that shares my space with two other teachers and two paras. I also do not have my own computer and phone. I feel special education teachers are not treated as real teachers at times. I feel administrators need to support all teachers and give them the resources that they need to complete their work. Also, support the special education teachers when having difficulty with a student.

• We do have special education secretaries and Case Fac. to test and complete the Evaluation Reports which is very helpful. This does provide more time with students. This is a good thing. I wanted to be sure to end on a positive note.

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